Traditional drilling and excavation methods utilize drills to form holes in one or more layers of material to be penetrated. Excavation, quarrying, and tunnel boring may also use explosives placed in the holes and detonated in order to break apart at least a portion of the material. The use of explosives results in additional safety and regulatory burdens which increase operational cost. Typically, these methods cycle from drill to blast to removal of material. Progress may be relatively slow ranging from minutes to hours to days per linear foot, depending on the cross-sectional area of the hole and the methods used to remove the material to form a desired excavation.